HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
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BLUE BEETLE #26, $3.50, 40 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Jai Nitz; Art by Mike Norton and Trevor Scott; Cover by Zach Howard

This is the first post-Rogers issue of Blue Beetle, and DC is trying something fairly different. It involves a Reyes family reunion, where everyone speaks Spanish. Traci 13 is likely going to be the focus of this issue, as the outsider who really doesn’t know what is going on, since she doesn’t speak the language. If the story is done right, you won’t even need the English script pages in the back, but they will be there if you are dying to know what is said.

Yeah, it isn’t the first time something like this has been tried, but it isn’t used very often, and is out there enough to soften the blow of losing John Rogers.

DC UNIVERSE ZERO, $0.50, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns; Art by George Pérez, Tony Daniel, J.G. Jones, Aaron Lopresti, Ivan Reis, Philip Tan and Carlos Pacheco; Cover by various

This is the transition issue between Countdown and Final Crisis - of course, at the fifty-cent price, this issue is meant to lure you into the story if you haven’t been following Countdown, and hopefully give you everything you might need to know going into next month’s Final Crisis #1.

Event fatigue is naturally a factor here, but not as much as you might think. They still haven’t gotten to the point where people will abandon this latest “Crisis,” readers will still pick up the series just to see how it pans out (we aren’t that far gone, yet). There are a few out there, though, who might be leaning in that direction though. It is hard to beat a fifty cent comic, and that is a good way to see if Final Crisis is worth your money if you are still on the fence about it.

GIANT SIZE AVENGERS INVADERS #1, $3.99, 96 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Roy Thomas, Art by Sal Buscema, Frank Robbins, Alex Schomburg, Don Rico, Lee Elias, and Lee Weeks

Seems to be the norm with Marvel these days, but before any major mini, they release some kind of Giant-Size issue that reprints old stories featuring the characters involved in the upcoming event. Avengers/Invaders will be no different - this week will see the release of the whopping 96 page Giant-Size Avengers/Invaders, showcasing a few old Invaders stories, and rounding things off with a few preview pages of the upcoming Avengers/Invaders.

Yeah, if you have read these stories, it might not seem worth it, but it is a good bet that most of you out there haven’t. And these stories are often difficult to find in trade format. Under $4 for this much story is a decent price, and will give you a good introduction to the Invaders, beyond what you might have read in the not-too-distant All-New Invaders series. A decent buy if you are eagerly anticipating the new series.

GREEN LANTERN #30, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert

Gotta say that thus far, this “retelling” of Hal Jordan’s origin isn’t half bad. It seemed like a weird story choice, with the “Blackest Night” story looming on the horizon, but perhaps you could look at it as a much needed rest. Green Lantern has been wall-to-wall action, and we have had little time for character development. Of course, a trip through history doesn’t necessarily make for the best vehicle for character development, but you can bet that somewhere in this story, some seeds will be planted that will come to light again in the upcoming Final Crisis, as the Blackest Night story that will shortly follow.

Yeah, the pace slowed a bit from the explosive story we have gotten thus-far, but that isn’t always a bad thing. If the story is worth telling, I can’t see how this diversion could be considered a bad thing.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #14, $3.99, 48 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Tonci Zonjic, Clay Mann, Stephano Gaudiano, Kano, and Matt Hollingsworth

Well, the bad news is that David Aja is nowhere to be seen this issue. The solicits still show David Aja as the artist, but if you dig around and find the preview pages, the credits page is available, and his name is nowhere to be found. The penciling duties look like they will be divided up once again with Zonjic, Mann, and Kano dividing the duties. Bad news? You betcha. Despite Fraction’s outstanding story (and despite the art, the story quality will still be there), one of the best things about this title was Aja’s brilliant style.

It’s a blow to be sure - but as they say - the show must go on. Marvel did the right thing going ahead with this book, even without Aja. Yeah, the art shoft is jarring, made even moreso by the artistic rotation during the issues themselves - but art isn’t the only aspect of a comic. It is far more important that the issue suffers a little bit than to have months and months of delays. It’s a real shame - but ultimately, it was the right move. Despite the art, this final issue of The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven story will no doubt be explosive. Let’s hope the art team is up to the challenge.

JSA CLASSIFIED #37, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by B. Clay Moore; Art by Ramon Perez ; Cover by Sean Chen and Sandu Florea

Wow, talk about out of the blue. DC’s website still lists 2 more issues after this one, and there has yet to be an announcement of any kind, but all of the latest solicits for this week’s titles list this as the final issue. Of course, the next 2 part arc is slated to be another Wildcat story, so who knows.

Maybe this is the final issue, maybe not. Hopefully not - JSA Classified continues to be a great avenue for some solo character development for the JSA (Most of which do not have their own ongoing titles). Even if it is only another two issues, a little more is better than none at all. This title is probably going to eventually make way for the Power Girl ongoing, even if it isn’t over this issue. So things aren’t all bad…

MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #8, $3.99, 48 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Marc Guggenheim, Ivan Brandon, Andy Schmidt, and Rich Koslowski, Art by Dave Wilkins, Niko Henrichon, Marco Turin, Andrea DiVito, and Tony Washington

This one has the making of a pretty decent issue. New this month is the first part of a new 5 part Machine Man story, and what looks to be a one-shot Cyclops and Wolverine issue. Of course, the Weapon Omega and Vanguard stories are still ongoing, going into their 8th parts.

In all, 8 issues into it, this remains a solid purchase. Like most anthologies, not all of the stories are sure bets, but the bulk of each issue has been highly enjoyable and well worth reading. Looking forward to issue #10, which promises a Deadpool story, which is reason enough to buy the title.

Thus-far, Marvel’s experiment in bringing back the anthology seems to be a success. Hopefully, this keeps up!

ORDER #10, $2.99, 32 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Barry Kitson, Mark Morales, and Chris Sotomayor

Did this title ever really have a chance? Granted, it had the worst possible start with all of the title confusion before the first issue ever hit the stands. But it was decent - a little slow starting, but otherwise an ok read. This really highlights the perils of the decompressed storytelling style - Fraction set this one up for the slow build, and unfortunately, ten issues really isn’t enough for him to have brought all of his ideas to fruition.

Of course, from Matt Fraction’s own lips, the Order wasn’t “cancelled” so much, as he chose to end it. Hopefully that isn’t entirely true - else it makes that slow build even less worth it. Either way - hopefully we will be seeing some of the better characters from this team pop up sometime again somewhere else. Curse of the Challengers of Los Angeles?

TEEN TITANS #58, $2.99, 32 Pages, DC Comics
Written by Sean McKeever; Art by Eddy Barrows and Jimmy Palmiotti; Cover by Barrows

There isn’t really any other way to put it - Sean McKeever is on his game here. Maybe it is unfairly pigeon-holing him by pointing out his obvious writing strengths, but really, there isn’t anyone else out there right now who can write teenaged characters the way he can. A lot of writers get stuck on stereotypes - McKeever uses them when appropriate, but doesn’t let them define all of his characters the way others might. If you wanted to get a teenager into comics, all you would need do is hand them one of the titles he writes, and you can bet they would find something they could identify with. It is a rare talent these days. It is safe to say that Teen Titans will be in good hands as long as he is on the title.

ULTIMATE X-MEN #93, $2.99, 32 pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Salvador Larroca and Stephane Peru

Finally, with what might be good news to some readers is this - the final issue of Kirkman’s decidedly rocky run on Ultimate X-Men. There is no denying that this title had its ups and downs under Kirkman’s pen - perhaps Kirkman himself is to blame, but this is one of those cases where it seems like Editorial interference might have been an even bigger problem. Once of the good things about the Ultimate line was its slimmer character set, but Marvel wasted no time in adding Ultimate version after Ultimate version of all sorts of mutant heroes and villains. Soon, this title started to experience the very same problems that the 616 mutant titles have gone through - too many mutants.

To follow on this title is another Heroes scribe - this time in the form of Aron Coleite. Good news? Tough to say. TV writers, like hit novelists, are hit and miss in comics, and there is no way to tell if Coleite will really know what to do with this title. Hopefully the story gets a little smaller though - a simpler approach will do this title a world of good.

SPOTLIGHT PICK OF THE WEEK

DAREDEVIL BLOOD OF THE TARANTULA, $3.99, 48 Pages, Marvel Comics
Written by Ed Brubaker and Ande Parks, Art by Chris Samnee

Kind of a fun idea for a one-shot. The Black Tarantula’s recent appearance in Daredevil was entertaining, and there was a lot of interesting room there for a further story. Naturally, Brubaker’s Matt Murdock being who he is, there were a lot of other critical issues in the way of giving this story the kind of justice it would deserve. So why not a one-shot? Might have made a decent annual too, but it is a little bit soon for that.

This issue finds Black Tarantula where we left him - in his old stomping grounds trying to clean out the very gangs he used to run. Of course, Daredevil is in the title of this one, so you can bet that he will be making an appearance somewhere here. If told right, though, this will be mostly LaMuerto’s show. Should be a good read.

DARK HORSE

STAR WARS REBELLION #13 SMALL VICTORIES PART 3 (OF 4) $2.99 Now: $2.59

DC COMICS

ACTION COMICS #864 $2.99 Now: $2.69
BLUE BEETLE #26 $3.50 Now: $2.99
DC UNIVERSE ZERO $0.50 Now: $0.49
GREEN LANTERN #30 $2.99 Now: $2.69
JSA CLASSIFIED #37 $2.99 Now: $2.59
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #41 $2.99 Now: $2.69
SHOWCASE CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN TP VOL 02 $16.99 Now: $13.99
TEEN TITANS #58 $2.99 Now: $2.69
TEEN TITANS GO #54 $2.25 Now: $1.99
TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE #4 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.69
UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #8 (OF 8) $2.99 Now: $2.59

IMAGE COMICS

NOBLE CAUSES #33 $3.50 Now: $2.99

MARVEL COMICS

AVENGERS INITIATIVE #12 $2.99 Now: $2.69
BLACK PANTHER TP LITTLE GREEN MEN $10.99 Now: $8.99
DAREDEVIL BLOOD OF THE TARANTULA $3.99 Now: $3.49
FANTASTIC FOUR TP BEGINNING OF THE END $12.99 Now: $11.99
GIANT SIZE AVENGERS INVADERS #1 $3.99 Now: $3.49
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #14 $3.99 Now: $3.49
MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN #12 $2.99 Now: $2.59
MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #8 $3.99 Now: $3.49
MARVEL ILLUSTRATED MOBY DICK #3 (OF 6) $2.99 Now: $2.59
NEW AVENGERS #40 $2.99 Now: $2.69
NEW WARRIORS #11 $2.99 Now: $2.69
ORDER #10 $2.99 Now: $2.69
SECRET INVASION #1 (OF 8) 2ND PTG YU VAR $3.99 Now: $3.59
ULTIMATE HUMAN #4 (OF 4) $2.99 Now: $2.69
ULTIMATE X-MEN #93 $2.99 Now: $2.69
X-MEN LEGACY #210 $2.99 Now: $2.69

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

Well, it is that time of year again - Free Comic Book Day! The one Saturday a year when comic fans in droves will make the pilgrimage to their local comic shop (as opposed to a Wednesday) to get a few free books and share in the festivities.

This year’s event will be on this Saturday, May 5th. For more information, you can visit the official website, or ask your local shop for details on the events and titles they will have on hand. Behave yourselves, and remember to bring a friend! And as every year, I would urge each of you to go against your collector’s instincts, and keep these titles out of those oh-so-safe bags and boards. Read them, and then pass them on to a friend who doesn’t already enjoy comics (do make sure it will be something they might enjoy though). As much as this day is for the comic reader - it is even more for the future comic reader. This industry needs new readers to survive - and if it means parting with an issue that will continue to be worth absolutely nothing in the coming years, then so be it! Give that comic away! Share with others the very thing you have enjoyed for so many years? More readers means it is more likely your favorite titles will escape the cancellation axe. Do it for the cause!

NOTE: Opinions here may not reflect those of X-World Comics LLC or its staff and are solely the opinions of the writer.

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